THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #167

"...Stalked By The Spider-Slayer!"

• Writer: Len Wein
• Artist: Ross Andru
• Inker: Mike Esposito
• Print Date: Apr., 1977

Featuring:

Plot Summary:

"Take that you web-slinging menace! And that! And that! And that!" Jonah has a new toy - the latest model of Spider-Slayer to track and capture Spider-Man with. This model was designed by Dr. Marla Madison, and it is controlled by a psycho-cybernetic helmet. It cost a small fortune, but Jonah hopes it will make him more than a match for Spider-Man.

I must admit, the Spider-Slayer seems adequate for shooting at stationary targets. It has clippers for cutting web-lines, and a grapple-claw for.. well.. catching ping-pong balls. The machine is capable of twisting heavy iron bars into pretzel like shapes. None of which gives any indication that it will be any sort of match for Spider-Man.

Next, we change scenes to a desolate stretch of the New Jersey Coast Highway. It's late in the evening. A heavy fog casts a ghastly pallor on the scene as a lone eighteen-wheeler travels on its route. As two truckers compare their diner's coffee to embalming fluid, a yellow ball of light floats up alongside the truck. The truckers compare the ball to a UFO or a will-o'-the-wisp. The ball apparently has a hypnotic affect, and as the driver falls into a trance, his rig runs off the wall and overturns. Without hesitation, the glowing ball arcs skyward and returns minutes later taking the form of a man. As he rips open the back of the trailer and removes a small black bag from the trucker's cargo, the man (Will O' The Wisp?) regrets his unholy work and laments his lost humanity. Then, he tends to the drivers, bandaging up their wounds before streaking away from the wreck.

Now, we finally look in on our ever-loving star as he stands before a busy Forest Hills apartment house with MJ and Anna Watson. After an urgent call from Anna, Peter has come down to see Aunt May marching the picket line with the other housing residents. Aunt May and the others are picketing the landlord because the landlord is trying to eliminate rent-control on the building. Actually, the scenes of Aunt May protesting and raving like a fanatic are pretty funny compared to some of the other portrayals of the character. Peter and MJ encourage Aunt May to "give 'em heck" and head back to the bus stop. As they walk, Peter's spider-sense alerts him to a shadowy figure following them on the rooftops. Peter quickly begs off having coffee and donuts with MJ and puts her on the bus home. Then, he ducks into an abandoned tenement to take his leave and bring Spider-Man on the scene. Immediately after changing clothes, Jonah's Spider-Slayer catches up with him. Spider-Man tries to web up the Spider-Slayer, but his webbing incinerates as soon as it touches the robot. Jonah response by firing some sort of strobe light at Spider-Man while charging. That attack is easily avoided, and Spider-Man swings off leaving an enraged Jonah behind.

Oh, I missed it the first time, but Jonah does brag about having evidence that proves what Spider-Man really is. The rest of the story makes a bit more sense after I re-read it.

While, several miles south, in the wilds of Far Rockaway, Flash, Harry, and Liz stroll out of the movies when someone hails Harry from a nearby sports car. Harry introduces his therapist, Dr Bart Hamilton, to Flash and Liz and the doctor drives off. So we've an entire page devoted to introducing Harry's therapist. You don't think that he's going to appear again in some role or another, do you?

And outside his suburban home, Joe Robertson gets in his car heading towards the Bugle to check out a late night story about a glowing ball that hijacked a truck along the New Jersey coastline. I guess news travels fast. I had to go look, but apparently, our entire issue so far has taken place in a single late afternoon/evening and now it's nighttime. As Joe heads into town, Spider-Man startles him from the back seat with a question about Jonah's recently behavior. Joe admits that Jonah hasn't been acting too unusual lately (other than cackling over the contents of some envelope in his desk), but then Joe goes off on Spider-Man for invading his private life and his home. A severely chastened Spider-Man gets out of the car with the information he needs to know.

And in slightly more time than it tells to write this review, Spider-Man enters the office of one J. Jonah Jameson. I find it odd that Jonah, being so paranoid and having so many dealings with Spider-Man, does not lock his window. Spider-Man stealthily enters, applies a little spider-strength to Jonah's desk drawer (flagrant act of vandalism), and sneaks out past the watchman with the yellow office envelope (flagrant act of theft). Perhaps in the 70's, such actions were not considered illegal, I don't know. At this point, ask yourself, what separates Spider-Man from any other petty crook like the Beetle or Scorpion?

Moments later, Spider-Man starts heading towards home when he spots a suspicious ball of light floating through Manhattan. Remembering Robbie's comments about the hijacked truck in New Jersey, Spider-Man follows the ball and watches it pass through a building wall without touching it! Spider-Man watches the ball of light transform into a man (but not a man he recognizes). The character we know as Will O' The Wisp rips open a wall safe and pulls removes the plans (stored in another yellow office envelope) from within. When Spider-Man attacks the thief (wait, who's the thief here?), but with his abilities, Will O' The Wisp tries to convince Spider-Man to leave him be. When that doesn't work, Will O' The Wisp (Ok, I'm REALLY tired of typing that out) uses his abilities to phase through Spider-Man's attack, and retaliate with a punch "like the kick of an angry Missouri mule!" Spider-Man's dazed formed is knocked out the office window, but Will O' The Wisp prevents Spider-Man from splattering on the pavement below. Will O The Wisp's efforts allow Spider-Man to spin a web mattress to cushion his fall onto the Rockefeller Plaza ice rink. When Will O' The Wisp joins him on the ice, he again tries to discuss the situation instead of fighting. However, when Spider-Man snatches up a fallen yellow office envelope (who's envelope is it?) Will O' The Wisp hypnotizes Spider-Man and makes him completely immobile.

As if being unable to resist wasn't bad enough, Jonah's Spider-Slayer has finally caught up to Spider-Man...